Biden administration approves $735 million weapons sale to Israel
Biden administration approves $735 million weapons sale to Israel
Congress was officially notified of the deal on May 5, only a week before hostilities in the region intensified
An Israeli airstrike hits a building in Gaza City on Monday. (Hatem Moussa/AP)
A previous version of this article misstated the name of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This version has been corrected.
The Biden administration has approved the sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel, raising red flags for some House Democrats who are part of the shifting debate over the U.S. government’s support for the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Congress was officially notified of the proposed sale on May 5, according to three people based on Capitol Hill familiar with the notification. That was nearlya week before hostilities intensified between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.) called a virtual emergency meeting Monday evening with House Democrats on the committee to discuss the sale to Israel and the conflict more broadly, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Meeks told lawmakers that he was caught unaware of this weapons sale to Israel, the person said.
